Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Spĕc'trum, n. p. 1268A visible form; something seen. Darwin. 2. (Opt.) The several colored and other rays of which light is composed, separated by the refraction of a prism or other means, and exhibited either as spread…Spĕc'ū-lar, a. p. 1268Having the qualities of a speculum or mirror; having a smooth, reflecting surface; as, a specular metal; a specular surface. 2. Assisting sight. [Obs.] Thy specular orb Apply to well-directed…Spēc'ū-lāte, v. i. p. 1268To consider by turning an object in the mind, and viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to meditate; to contemplate; as, to speculate on political events. 2. (Com.) To purchase with the…Spēc'ū-lāte, v. t. p. 1268To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [Obs.] Browne.Spĕc/ū-lā'tion, n. p. 1268The act of speculating; as, (a.) Examination by the eye; view. [Obs.] (b.) Mental view of any thing in its various aspects and relations; contemplation; intellectual examination. Thenceforth to…Spēc'ū-la-tīst, n. p. 1268One who speculates or forms theories; a speculator; a theorist. “The very ingenious speculatist, Mr. Hume.” Knox.Spĕc'ū-lā-tīve, a. p. 1268Given to, or concerning, speculation; involving, or formed by, speculation; ideal; theoretical; not established by reason; imaginary. “The mind of man being by nature speculative.” Hooker. 2.…Spēc'ū-la-tīve-ly, adv. p. 1268In a speculative manner; in contemplation; ideally; theoretically; in theory only, not in practice. 2. In the way of speculation in lands, goods, and the like.Spĕc'ū-lā-tīve-ness, n. p. 1268The state of being speculative, or of consisting in speculation only.Spĕc'ū-lā'tor, n. p. 1268One who speculates or forms theories. In the earlier part of the seventeenth century, a speculator who had dared to affirm that the human soul is by nature immortal. Macaulay. 2. An observer; a…Spēc/ū-la-tō'ri-al, a. p. 1268Speculatory; speculative. [Obs.]Spēc'ū-la-to-ry, a. p. 1268Exercising speculation; speculative. Carew. 2. Intended or adapted for viewing or espying.Spēc'ū-list, n. p. 1268One who observes or considers; an observer. [Rare.] Goldsmith.Spĕc'ŭ-lūm, n. p. 1268A mirror or looking-glass. 2. A reflector of polished metal, especially such as is used in reflecting telescopes, made of an alloy of copper and tin, or of a coating of silver deposited on a surface…Spēd, imp. & p. p. p. 1269of speed. See SPEED.Speece, n. p. 1269Species; kind; sort. [Obs.] B. Jonson.Speech, n. p. 1269The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words, as in human beings; the faculty of expressing thoughts by words or articulate sounds; the power of speaking. 2. That which is spoken; words, as…Speech, v. i. p. 1269To make a speech; to harangue. [Obs. and rare.]Speech'ful, a. p. 1269Full of speech or words; uttering many words; voluble; loquacious. [Rare.]Speech'i-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 1269The act of speechifying;—used humorously or in contempt.Speech'i-fy, v. i. p. 1269To make a speech; to harangue;—used derisively or humorously.Speech'ing, n. p. 1269The act of making a speech. [Obs.]Speech'less, a. p. 1269Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech. 2. Not speaking for a time; dumb; mute; silent. “Speechless with wonder, and half dead with fear.” Addison.Speech'less-ness, n. p. 1269The state of being speechless; muteness.Speech'-mak'er, n. p. 1269One who makes speeches; one who is accustomed to speak in a public assembly.Speed, v. i. p. 1269To make haste; to move with celerity. Shak. 2. To attain what one seeks for; to advance in one's enterprise; to prosper; to succeed. He that's once denied will hardly speed. Shak. 3. To have any…Speed, v. t. p. 1269To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to send forth as a messenger; hence, to hasten; to hurry. He sped him thence home to his habitation. Fairfax. 2. To help forward; to assist onward…Speed, n. p. 1269The moving or causing to move forward with celerity; swiftness; quickness. 2. Prosperity in an undertaking; favorable issue, that is, advance to the desired end; success. O Lord God of my master…Speed'er, n. p. 1269One who, or that which, speeds. 2. A kind of machine for forwarding things in manufacture.Speed'fŭl, a. p. 1269Full of speed; hasty. [Obs.]Speed'ful-ly, adv. p. 1269In a speedful manner; speedily.Speed'i-ly, adv. p. 1269In a speedy manner; quickly; with haste.Speed'i-ness, n. p. 1269The quality of being speedy; quickness; celerity; haste; dispatch.Speed'well, n. p. 1269(Bot.) A plant of the genus Veronica, one species of which has sometimes been used as a substitute for tea. London.Speed'y, a. p. 1269Not dilatory or slow; quick; swift; nimble; hasty; rapid in motion; as, a speedy flight; on speedy foot. I will wish her speedy strength. Shak.Speer, v. t. p. 1269To ask. See SPERE.Speet, v. t. p. 1269To stab. [Obs.]Speight, n. p. 1269(Ornith.) A kind of large woodpecker. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]Speiss, n. p. 1269(Min.) Copper nickel, consisting of nickel and arsenic. Ure.Spĕl'ding, n. p. 1269A dried haddock. Simmonds.Spēlk, n. p. 1269A small stick or rod used in thatching; a splinter. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.Spĕll, n. p. 1269A spelk or splinter. [Obs.] Holland.Spĕll, n. p. 1269The relief of one person by another in any piece of work; a turn of work; a change; as, a spell at the pumps. Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are…Spĕll, v. t. p. 1269To supply the place of; to take the turn of, at work; to relieve; to help.Spĕll, n. p. 1269A story; a tale. [Obs.] Chaucer. 2. A verse or phrase repeated for its magical power; hence, any charm. Start not; her actions shall be holy; You hear my spell is lawful. Shak. Begin, begin; the…Spĕll, v. t. p. 1269To tell; to relate; to teach. [Obs.] Wotton. 2. To discover by characters or marks; to read; — with out; as, to spell out the sense of an author. A rude, unwritten blank, sent into the world only to…Spĕll, v. i. p. 1269To read, or learn to read. [R.] Milton. 2. To form words with the proper letters, either in reading or writing.Spĕll'-bound, a. p. 1269Arrested or locked up by a spell or charm.Spëll'er, n. p. 1269One who spells; one skilled in spelling. 2. A book containing exercises in spelling; a spelling-book. [U. S.]Spëll'ful, a. p. 1269Abounding in spells or charms. Here, while his eyes the learned leaves peruse, Each spellful mystery explained he views. Hoole.Spĕll'ing, n. p. 1269The act of naming the letters of a word, or the act of writing or printing words with their proper letters. 2. The manner of forming words with letters; orthography; as, bad spelling is disreputable.Spëll'ing-böök, n. p. 1269A book for teaching children to spell and read; a speller.Spĕll'-länd, n. p. 1269A land of spells or charms.Spĕll'-work, n. p. 1269Power of magic; that which is wrought by magic. Like those Peri isles of light That hang by spell-work in the air. T. Moore.Spĕlt, n. p. 1269(Bot.) A species of grain (the Triticum spelta), much cultivated for food in Germany and Switzerland;—called also German wheat.Spëlt, n. p. 1269A mineral used to promote fusion of metals. See SPALT.Spĕlt, v. t. & i. p. 1269To split; to spalt. [Obs.] Mortimer.Spël'ter, n. p. 1269Zinc.Spe-lūnge', n. p. 1269A cavern; a cave. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.Spēnçe, n. p. 1269A place where provisions are kept; a buttery; a larder; a pantry. In one large aperture, . . . called his spence, or “pantry,” were hung the carcasses of a sheep or ewe, and two cows lately…